Archives and Archivists in 20th Century England

'Archives have the potential to change people's lives. They are 'a fundamental bulwark of our democracy, our culture, our community and personal identity' - National Council of Archives. Archives and Archivists in 20th Century England innovatively focuses on the multifunctional reasons behind the creations of archives - they enable the conduct of business and support accountability whilst also meeting the demands of a democratic society's expectations for transparency and the protection of rights. They are the raw material of our history and memory while archivists and records managers are the professionals responsible for ensuring that these qualities are protected and exploited for the public good. This volume will be of key interest to anyone working with archives.

Dr Elizabeth Shepherd qualified as an archivist and worked in archives and records management in local government before becoming a records management specialist at TFPL Ltd. In 1992 she was appointed in the Department of Information Studies at University College London to update and revise the MA in Archives and Records Management of which she was programme director until 2002. In 2003 she was appointed a senior lecturer and in 2007, Reader. She serves on the editorial boards of Journal of the Society of Archivists, Archival Science and the Records Management Journal, and was until recently a member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, the AHRC Peer Review College and the RAE 2008 Panel.